Consequences
by kimicatdemon
Summary: "You get caught one time..." Phantom ends up being put on a rather bitter end of things when being caught in a small little village.


A small peak to the left, a small peak to the right. Phantom slipped inside of the old and dusty library quickly without a sound. "Alright, first step complete…" He told himself quietly. This little infiltration was… a bit different from the ones he had done in the past. Usually he had done missions like these with a set item or artifact in sight. Once he knew where it was, he could easily get in and get out. This time though, he was not out for anything tangible. He could not be quick. He had to be thorough.

His goal this time was information on the members of Aurora. They were very secretive. Very quiet. They kept their lips shut most of the time, and whenever they talked, it seemed like only the master was permitted to speak to any of them. Freud had tried to speak with some of the other villagers, only to receive a slight brush off. After a few more meetings for information, Freud and the others discovered one of the secrets of this crew. The Black Mage himself was one of them, being a man that descended from light into darkness. The current master spoke all of this in a rather shameful tone, so Phantom could tell that was no lie. But it was far from the entire truth…

Freud dug a bit deeper into the conversation and by some chance of fate, managed to have him agree to "lend" Freud one of their own for the cause of stopping the Black Mage.

He was rather stern. He wore the trademark robes of the town and held a very serious face. But like the rest of the town, he remained quiet around their master. It was clear that this man had been raised carefully. From how he held himself to how he dressed, everything took a highly formal appearance.

"He is…" The master started, "He is our finest. He is the only one amongst us that is capable of using the power of light." He spoke calmly. "All the rest have fallen to darkness." He shook his head, "We were usually successful with taking them out when this happened, but… Our late master was no push over."

Phantom though a bit more. "They killed their own and gave spawn to the most vile being this world has ever encountered… I know this is not a lie… but why do I feel like they are hiding something else…?" He started to look at some of the books on a small shelf.

The books were rather dusted and old, and there was not that many. Only the master of the village was allowed in this room for some reason. Customs? Tradition? He didn't know, but he felt it was the best place to look for information.

He slowly started to flip through some of the pages. He felt a chill run down his spine reading some of the notes. They were mostly written by the former master, currently the Black Mage. He seemed to take his responsibility heavily, but he was not void of emotion. Phantom noticed the smears and smudges found here and there, typically on pages that spoke about failures, where someone ended up dead. "I wonder… did he really think it wouldn't happen to him?" Phantom thought to himself.

Considering no one in the village could take him down when he became corrupted, Phantom assumed he was possibly the man in charge of killing those that became corrupted. He was not just their leader, he was the one that kept them safe from harm, even if the one doing the harm were those he was to protect. Phantom couldn't help but feel rather sorry for the ill-fated man…

He continued to look through the notes, finding some interesting tid bits. He noticed that a lot of the pages actually smelled like bread and found bits of old bread crumbs hidden here and there. "I suppose the man didn't have much time to eat…" He thought to himself.

His thoughts got the best of him and he ended up losing track of time. It was not long before a voice rang through the room.

"What are you doing in here?" It shouted.

Phantom jumped up and rose to his feet quickly. "This is why I hate information gatherings like this…" he thought to himself. He let his guard down for one moment to get involved in the information and he was busted. "Well, I'm gathering information." He said coolly. Considering the master was no stranger to him, maybe he could slide it off easily.

"Gathering information? You're not supposed to be in here!" The master yelled.

Clearly this wouldn't be easy. And without Freud's calm demeanor around, things could possibly get fired up before getting any better. "I am aware this looks bad, but you must understand, we cannot work with you easily if you are not telling us everything! It's rather vital tha—"

"There's nothing you need to know!" He said as he snatched the book out of Phantom's hand. "The information in here is classified. Only the master is allowed to know these details!"

"I'll have you know I happen to be very keen when it comes to information. I do not like being told what I can and cannot know." Phantom said.

At this point, it dawned on the master that this was not Freud he was dealing with. Freud was mannerly and polite, but very serious on his goal and mission; despite the little jokes he would crack to lighten the mood. Phantom, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. He took it seriously, if not more so than Freud, but Phantom was not scared to get his hands and knees a little dirty. They were already soiled from his reputation as a thief, so he was not spotless, but even while working as a hero, he would still dive right into messy situations to get something out of it. "Get out." The master stated. "A thief like you shouldn't be a hero to begin with. You're just lucky that Freud fellow is nice enough to accept you."

Phantom sneered and took a step back, "You don't have to tell me what I already know." He snapped back, "Just know that I will find out what you're hiding. If it brings ill fortune to any of the heroes…" Phantom threw a card in front of the master, laying up right. "I've clearly got nothing to lose." He said before vanishing in a flash of cards.

The master looked down at the card. He kneeled down and picked it up. It was a dark card of death. "Nothing to lose, eh?" The master told himself with a sigh. He walked over to the shelf and looked at the books. It looked like Phantom had only grabbed one of the books and didn't look through the rest. "Good…" The Master told himself. He had not written anything himself, so he was doubtful of Phantom discovering "that" truth, but he was still edgy from what Phantom could know. He could easily crush the foundation of their crew if he dug deep enough. "Bah!" the master stood up and walked out furiously.

He walked around for a bit before opening a door to a rather isolated room. "Luminous! Wake up! I need to have a word with you!"

Luminous blinked his eyes a bit. He was not a heavy sleeper, so waking him up was easy, but he still wasn't exactly what one would call a morning person. He sat up and rubbed his eyes and looked at the master, "Is something wrong?"

The master shut the door, "Luminous… You are aware that you are part of that hero alliance ordeal, yes?"

Luminous nodded. "It is my duty to ensure that the escapee from our village is stopped and defeated before bringing any more harm to innocent lives and restore our name, correct?"

The master nodded in a pleased manner, "Good, good, I see you have not yet forgotten." He walked over to the window and ensured it was fully closed. "Tell me, what do you think of those… hero fellows anyway?"

"I am rather indifferent." Luminous responded. "They all have their way of thinking and working. I am not one to judge them for their actions."

Turning around the Master gave Luminous a serious look, "Luminous, one of them snuck into the top part of the library."

"The library?" Luminous's eyes widened a bit, "What could they have wanted in there?"

"I am not sure…" The Master said, "But I can tell you this: once a thief, always a thief. Do not trust that man with the raven mask lest he dig you into your grave."

"The raven mask… Do you mean Phantom?" Luminous asked.

"Yes yes, if that is his name." The Master waved his hand and walked up to Luminous, "This is serious, Luminous. There is sensitive information there… Information that could ruin us amongst other mages. This world is not a friendly place. Beyond the Black mage, there are wars! Countless wars amongst humans, and fairies, and demons… the list goes on my child!" He started to talk fast yet angrily, "We have worked hard to keep our village safe and secure. Ever since that day you received your light powers, we have raised you to be the top mage of our village! You would surpass many of the teachers on the outside world! But I fear you do not understand the danger of what that man has done!"

Luminous sat on the edge of his bed and began to think. He tried to think of a reason why Phantom would be lurking around in their library, but no matter what he tried to think, he couldn't find an answer that seemed harmless. Everything he knew about that library was that it was strictly taboo for anyone to enter it casually. The entire village respected this and never disobeyed. "I understand." He confirmed back.

The master looked at luminous, "You do?"

Luminous looked at the floor, "I've come too far to back out of this, Master. Please understand that for the sake of others, I cannot leave…. However… " Luminous stood up, "I understand that Phantom, although claiming to be a hero, is still a thief. I will keep close eye on his behavior."

The master calmed down and let out a relaxed sigh, "I see… I am glad to hear you will continue, but do keep in mind… There are many people beyond these walls that you cannot trust. This village will always be here for you." He said calmly.

Luminous nodded a bit and watched as the master left his room. He looked at the floor and then back at the window. He could almost feel a small fear clutching at him. Just talking about the world outside of the village scared him a bit. He was never eager to leave. But he had a job, and it would be one that he would work to the fullest.

The Master slowly walked down the halls to retire for the night himself. He always walked one round of security before going to bed, although, he hoped Phantom wouldn't return any time soon… He had been very much on edge since they started to arrive and visit.

"What exactly did you tell him?" A voice rang quietly through the hall.

"Nothing important, Lucia." The Master exclaimed.

Lucia stayed quiet in the shadows, "…..Master… do you think…. Do you really think it's a good idea to send him out like that? He'll be fighting against…"

"I am well aware Lucia…" the Master stated. "Fate has staged this battle itself. We can only enforce it at this point and encourage it."

"But he doesn't even know that he's-!"

The Master raised his hand up, "Lucia… there is a time and place for everything. In some cases, it may make a man stronger to not know."

Lucia stayed quiet. She wanted Luminous to know… he needed to know the truth. Ever since that day, Luminous lived his life thinking the trauma from the Black mage's attack caused him to lose his memories…

How could you tell him that he never had memories in the first place? That he wasn't like everyone else? How could you tell a man going to fight something that evil that he was technically a part of it? She did not have the answer for the questions… so she remained quiet. "I understand…" She submitted. For now, the master would be the final say on this. He knew what he was doing, right?

The next meetings with the heroes was far from pleasant. Luminous met Phantom and scorned a bit. "Hmm?" Phantom said rather suspiciously. "Is something wrong?"

"I think you know exactly what's wrong you little nosy thief." Luminous remarked.

Phantom rolled his eyes a bit. Great… the master had turned Luminous out right against him. Of course!

"N-Now guys, let's not get too aggressive here." Freud stated, noting the rather aggressive over tones in the environment, "We just need to think of a plan for the next general attack. We already know where they are going to—"

"Then we just show up and fight them back, correct?" Luminous remarked.

"Yes, but it would probably be wise of us to attack as a tea—"

"I am not teaming up with that lowly thief." Luminous said sternly.

Phantom blinked, "Excuse me, lowly thief? I'm a MASTER thief, there is quiet a difference and I'll have you know I can easily take yo—"

Freud raised his hands between the two, "Okay okay, settle down you two… This isn't going to get us anywhere so we just need to get along. At least long enough to work together, agreed?"

The two remained quiet and stared at each other. Phantom gave a sigh. No matter how angry he could be, he couldn't turn down a request from Freud. "Fine." He stretched his hand out, "truce?"

Luminous looked at Phantom's hand then looked him in the eyes, "As long as you stay out of trouble, I won't cause any." He remarked coldly.

With a sigh, Phantom lowered his hand. It was always this way, wasn't it? The people in power always hated him and had it spread to others. Now a fellow team mate wanted nothing to do with him…

After Luminous left, Freud looked at Phantom. "Okay Phantom, what did you do?"

Phantom sat up, "I didn't do anything to him!"

Freud crossed his arms and gave Phantom a nice little accusing look. "Phantom…"

Phantom pouted and sighed a bit, "Well… it may have something to do with me lurking around for information in their town but—"

"Phantom!" Freud said and sat down, "You know that place is already uptight with how things are! They don't need people snooping around."

Phantom looked at Freud, "You can't tell me you're okay with this though! They're clearly hiding something from us!"

Freud shook his head back and forth a bit. "Well… yes… this is true… It's quite common among mages."

Phantom rubbed his race with his hands, "Aughh, Freud, you're not okay with this are you?"

"Not necessarily." Freud remarked, "Although I do understand that they are going through a hard time and probably need to keep something's under wraps. If everything works out, we can probably start helping them and unveil things as they come." He looked over at his desk and picked up a piece of paper, "But right now, we need to stay on their good side, okay?"

Phantom sat back in the chair and huffed.

Freud laughed a bit. "Here, need some coffee or tea to calm down?"

Phantom turned his nose to the side.

"Don't be like that; I'm not against you or anything." Freud laughed.

Phantom turned and faced Freud again, "But why are you just letting this slip? Why are you okay with them hiding things from you? Isn't that bad?"

Freud stood up and made his way to the kitchen, raising his voice loud enough for Phantom to hear. "Sometimes Phantom, it's okay to hide things. It's like… you hiding Skyia or something." He said calmly, walking out with two cups of tea. "I still have no idea where you put that thing and you refuse to say."

"That's because no one needs to know." Phantom huffed out.

"And that's how they feel. No one need to know right now. But one day, it might be." Freud handed him his cup of tea and sat down, "You just have to sit and wait."

Phantom took a sip of the tea and looked at Freud. "I have no idea how you can be so patient, Freud." He remarked bitterly.

"Well I deal with you on a regular basis, which should say something!" he laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Phantom shouted back in a childish tone. "I'm not hard to deal with at all! Am I?"

Freud simply nodded his head and Phantom began to think about every little thing he had ever done with Freud, trying to find the problem, but Freud just sat back and laughed. "Maybe once all of this is said and done…" Freud thought to himself, "I think I'll help him get his name cleaned up a bit. He deserves it…"


End file.
